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Rosemary Roasted Radishes & Turkey Brie Panini

April 30, 2011

Little announcement...The giveaway winners are: ReL from The Dedicated Flash and Elissons from Sugar Symphony (all the way in Latvia!) who won a copy of Plate To Pixel. Congratulations also to Colorado76Gal from Baking Doux who won the set of 4 plates by Asya at gleena.com. Email me with your mailing addresses at mytartelette at gmail dot com. Thanks! *******************************************What a discombobulated week this has been! Life at its finest. It pushed and it pulled. And challenged. It gave and took away. The joys of many followed by the sorrow of others. Chances are that yourself can apply any one of these circumstances to your week I am sure. It happens everyday and we are left to keep going.

Moments like this, all out of sorts, caught between joy and pain, make me want to celebrate the simple things. Friendships, love, crushes, food, images,... Things I can count in my life as well as those I am working towards. People without a home or a loved one this week have little use for the romantic idea of the "unknown". I sympathize with that.

I have the greatest partner, a wonderful relationship with my in-laws, parents I adore, and the unconditional love of two crazy dogs . I have friends who keep me straight and make me laugh. I take timeouts just so that I can be there for whatever they need of me in return for all the wonderful days and warm fuzzies they give me.

Then there is work. Things tangible and things in project. Whatever we need to do to keep a roof over our heads. These are the only truths I know and the the ones I can have an impact on by keeping at it well and diligently.

One thing I do, even more than usual, is to keep things as simple and clear as possible. Starting with the food. We had friends over for dinner just about everyday this week. Every one wanted to help me celebrate the release of the book and raise a glass of Champagne. Or two. It was kind of surreal. Still...

You guys sure knows how to make a girl blush. Everytime I'd see on Twitter or Facebook a picture of the book barely out of the box, my heart went pitter patter. I love that you are grasping the sheer amount of work that went into it and information I included. My friend Ez at Creature Comforts summed up the core of the book in this very touching post.

I wanted to give you as many tools as possible to get the shot that makes you giddy, getting things right before you pressed the shutter button so you'd spend less time "fixing" in post processing and more time playing with your camera or with your loved ones. Or time in the kitchen fixing great foods to shoot...!

Sneaky segue to announce the winners of this week's giveaway...ah!Well..Tada! Congratulations to ReL from The Dedicated Flash and Elissons from Sugar Symphony (all the way in Latvia!) who won a copy of Plate To Pixel. Congratulations also to Colorado76Gal from Baking Doux who won the set of 4 plates by Asya at gleena.com. Email me with your mailing addresses at mytartelette at gmail dot com. Thanks!

Out of all the great dishes we shared with friends this week, I made Roasted Radishes and Turkey and Brie panini more than once. I picked up these colorful Easter Egg radishes (yep, not making this up) at the farmers market and after roasting them with rosemary, olive oil and salt, I was glad I had picked up more than one bunch.

We usually eat radishes as I did growing, with some butter and sea salt. But, the simple act of roasting releases the natural sugar of the radishes, changing their spicy and peppery nature to pure savory like candy.

We had them as a side dish, snack and mixed with local goat cheese for vegetarian ravioli (using this dough). Can't get enough. This week however I picked some watermelon radishes (pictured right above) for a change. These are so peppery, they will be wonderful thinly sliced in veggie sandwiches such as this one.

Talking about sandwiches...I was shooting a feature on paninis so it wasn't too difficult throwing an extra one on the press at the end of the day. And when it involves thinly sliced roasted turkey, fresh arugula and melting Brie...it's hard to say no. We did not. No regrets there. Even done in a pan grilled-cheese style. Oh yes!

I hope you'll give both these ideas a try. Would love to hear what's on your menu this weekend!

Heat the oven to 400F - 425F. Wash and pat dry the radishes to remove fuzzy hairs and dirt. Place the radishes in a 8x8-inch roasting pan (or other you prefer), drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast until they start getting golden on the edges. About 20-25 minutes. Enjoy warm or room temperature.

Turkey and Brie Panini (adapted and with permission of Carrie Vitt in Deliciously Organic, IFP, 2010)

Butter one side of each piece of bread. Spread a thin layer of jam on the unbuttered side. Top with some turkey (about 2 oz), a few leaves of arugula and a couple slices of Brie. Top with another slice of bread, unbuttered side toward the filling. Heat in a panini press, pan or skillet until both sides are golden brown and he cheese has melted inside.

One of my favorite pasta recipes is "the whole garden" which includes all sorts of winter friendly vegetables, including sliced radishes, simmered in a tomato sauce. When I saw radishes listed in the recipe I almost left them out- not what we Americans are used to. I am glad I did not. They do lose their heat and add a great texture and flavor to the sauce. I will have to try them roasted.

congratulations again on the book! i am really looking forward to the day that i can get a copy and learn from you--your photography and styling is truly lovely!

the paninis look great! last night i was absolutely craving Korean food, so i made a batch of Napa cabbage kimchi....and then it was lonely so i fixed up a bunch of other Korean side dishes. i'm not Korean but i find the food so tasty. and since there's no Korean restaurant for miles around, i just took things into my own hands :)

tonight will be a california salad night--lots of fresh veggies that we picked up at the produce store, plus avocados from our garden!

I've never thought of roasting radishes! So glad you shared this bit of information.

I've had a bit of celebrating myself this week. After 10 long hard days of building a new site at my very own domain (with Wordpress), I've moved Creative Kitchen over to the new home!! It was a very hard, tedious, and many moments I wanted to pull my hair out, but finally came to fruition.

So funny! We just bought a gorgeous daikon radish today - my first in ages. We sliced it thin, and scarfed it all up. Love that peppery bite of radishes. Your photos take my breath away... cannot wait to see your book.-Erin

I am hoping for your book for mama's day! And, if I don't I'm getting it for myself anyway! :)

I love the simplicity of the potatoes, and oooo- those sandwiches, they looks incredible also.And, it's so refreshing to read someone that truly values the "real" things in life, it IS the people and animal relationships that matter.Have a blessed day!

Easter egg radishes?! Watermelon radishes?! What an adventurous little vegetable. That panini sounds perfect - I have a weakness for brie, so the idea of grilled brie sandwiches could make a girl giddy :)

Isn't turkey and Brie such a terrific combo! You're convincing me to give roasted radishes a try, Helene. Radishes are one of just a few lingering food aversions from childhood, but I've only had them raw. I can just imagine how roasting them with rosemary brings on entirely new flavor. :-)

I have just discovered radishes this year and just posted an article that included them. They are so beautiful but unless they were in bits on my salad, I didn't use them in cooking. Happy to now know, radishes are delicious. Loved watching your promo video and am so interested in your new book.

Not long ago, I was amazed to learn that radishes are superb when cooked. I've always gotten such a kick out of eating them raw, but cooking them is just another way to love them. They take on a turnip-y flavor--a little sweet and very delicate.

Chris of Melecotte says nothing but sweet things about you so it was time to come by and say hello! :) You're def. blessed to have a loving relationship. So many young couples lose sight of the bigger picture. I love the 3rd shot and congrats to the winners!

Helene,I'm the only one in the house who will eat radishes. Been wanting to try them roasted for some time. You were the catalyst with this. Made them last night and guess what - the radish haters actually liked them.

I just ordered your beautiful book for my mother for mother's day! An avid baker and caterer, she has recently started a lovely blog called "Pie a Day Giveaway" - http://pieadaygiveaway.com. Each day she bakes a pie and gives it to someone she knows as a small token of recognition for the work they do in the community, the friendship that they have given her, or otherwise.

As her beautiful idea blossoms, I thought that your book would be a perfect boost to help her hone her pie photographs each day!

Thank you for your continuing inspiration - your blog is a joy to read and always makes my mouth water!

Your blog is one of my all-time favorites for its recipes and gorgeous photos. I made the roasted radishes (and added some sweet potatoes) and my 4 1/2 year old love it. She helped me toss the oil and salt with the radishes with her little hands. I wish I had captured that moment. It was so precious. Thanks for sharing this recipe that my daughter likes!